Fight human trafficking

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty ImagesA conference focusing on human trafficking awareness was held Friday in Morris County. Pictured here is a panel of speakers, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, center, at the annual meeting of the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking of Persons on March 15. The task force, which includes representatives from across the US government, coordinates federal efforts to combat human trafficking.

The March 31 article “Illuminating a dark secret — human trafficking” was too short to convey the breadth of the problem and the depth of suffering this crime causes. From domestic sex trafficking that happens across our state to the international use of and trade in slave labor, we are all affected by it.

The National Council of Jewish Women has been helping the victims of slavery since our organization was founded more than 100 years ago, and we know education and public awareness are the most important tools we have.

Here are two small first steps that everyone can take: 1) We can educate ourselves online and by joining local organizations and religious groups, such as those who sponsored and attended the March 30 conference in Whippany; and 2) we can contact state legislators to pass bill AJR56, which designates Jan. 11 as Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and AJR55/SJR44, designating January as Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery. Each of us can be part of the movement that is working toward the day when human trafficking has no future.